FBI chief says agency 'deeply concerned' about any company like China's ZTE

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate panel on Wednesday that the law enforcement agency is “deeply concerned” about any company like China’s ZTE gaining positions of power in the U.S. telecommunications market.

Wray also said he was not aware if President Donald Trump made any attempt to consult with the FBI for its views before he recently sent a note on Twitter promising to help ZTE restore jobs after U.S. sanctions prompted it to suspend its main business operations.

“We the FBI remain deeply concerned that any company beholden to foreign governments that don’t share our values are not companies that we want to be gaining positions of power inside our telecommunications network,” Wray told the panel. “That gives them the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information, that gives them the capacity to conduct undetected espionage.”

Reporting by Mark Hosenball; writing by David Alexander; editing by Tim Ahmann